HONG KONG, Jan 23 (AP) -- Actor Jet Li said Sunday he believes if the Chinese box office continues to grow it will eventually force Hollywood to cater to local tastes, opening up opportunities for Chinese actors beyond the action genre.

"People always wonder when Chinese films will break into Hollywood. If Chinese audiences respect intellectual property and don't watch pirated movies ... you won't have to break into Hollywood," Li said at a Hong Kong charity premiere for his new film "Fearless."

"Hollywood will try its hardest to break into China, and then Chinese actors will have the opportunity to not just make action or martial arts movies, but also comedy, drama," he said.

Ethnic Chinese actors who have moved on to Hollywood like Li, Chow Yun-fat and Jackie Chan have been largely restricted to action films.

Li added, "Many actors will have opportunities. Why? The market. Who doesn't want to make money? Who wants to lose China?"

The total Chinese box office in 2004, mainly derived from big cities, was 1.5 billion yuan (US$186 million; €154 million) and the figure is expected to have risen to 2 billion yuan (US$248 million; €205 million) in 2005, according to official statistics.

Such figures pale in comparison to U.S. box office numbers, but the prospect of 1.3 billion possible viewers is a potentially lucrative one.

Li was joined at Sunday's premiere by another big-name Chinese movie talent, Ang Lee, who recently won the best director award at the Golden Globes for "Brokeback Mountain."

Lee said he had eagerly awaited "Fearless," a collaboration between Li and martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, who also worked on Lee's Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

"I'm really happy for you. I'm really happy for Chinese audiences. I'm among them. I'm here as a cheerleader," Lee told Li.

Li said he wasn't overly concerned about the box office for "Fearless," the story of martial arts master Huo Yuanjia, because he was inspired to make a movie about a man with strong spirit after seeing news of a suicide.

"I didn't make this movie for money. I wanted to convey this belief," Li told reporters.